Your Will Matters

Wills and Inheritance issues

Category Archives: Lasting Power of Attorney

Your parents are getting older: will you help them plan their estate?

As your parents are getting older do you need to you help them plan their estate?

Watching our parents get older can be difficult. Our parents are the ones who made sure we were safe and secure, who advised us and who we looked up to. They have always been there for us.

As we become adults and parents ourselves we can see our parents are ageing. Frequently the roles and responsibilities change to the extent that the child effectively takes on the job of guardian of their parents. It may become obvious that our parents need help and advice to plan their finances and in preparing their estate.

They may need to be encouraged to seek out professional advice to help them sort out their affairs properly. It may be difficult and even uncomfortable to embark on such a discussion especially as it involves acknowledging the ‘potential’ of dying. There is the risk that it will look like the child is trying to manipulate the distribution of the estate. Nothing changes the fact that is is a very important conversation to have.

Estate planning really must be completed sooner rather than later before your parents reach a point where that are unable to effectively plan by themselves. Sometimes Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can rob them of mental abilities and accidents can bring about incapacitation.

A Lasting Power of Attorney can be established for each parent so that their affairs, both financial and potentially medical, can be managed in their interests and the interests of the family, should they lose capacity.

Any good estate planning must include Wills. The wills serve to establish both the distribution of the assets in the estate and who gets to do it, as nominated executors. Having well drafted Wills in place will also help prevent any additional problems between family members at at time when they will be dealing with the aftermath of the bereavement.

A difficult discussion for you to initiate but you will be contributing to your parents peace of mind which in turn will make their remaining years more fulfilling. It really does make sense for you to encourage them to look for estate planning advice while they are still in a position to do something about it.

Do unmarried couples need a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Unmarried couples and Lasting Power of Attorney

Are you unmarried partners without a Personal Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

What happens when an unmarried individual lacks the mental capacity to make their own choices. Normally, it falls to their next-of-kin, which could be parents if they are alive, or children, or failing that then a brother or sister and so on. Whoever it is will be called on to make important and maybe difficult decisions.

So without an LPA in place it is quite possible that a relative who is unclear of the wishes of the individual concerned is left to make very important decisions on their behalf.

For an unmarried individual without an LPA, the process of selecting who is to make decisions on their behalf should they lose mental capacity is out of their control, to a certain degree.

What’s different between an unmarried couple without an LPA and a married couple or civil partners without an LPA?

For a married person or civil partner, the next of kin is always their spouse or civil partner. This is straightforward as the decision making will vest in them. It is still advisable to have an LPA in place to allow the individual to retain control over who should be given decision-making powers on their behalf. Importantly, it gives an opportunity to select additional people to act as an attorney and the also option to name replacements in the event that an attorney is unable to act.

A partner who is not a spouse or a civil partner will not normally be ‘legally’ able to make decisions, on behalf of their partner in the event of lost mental capacity.

How does having a personal welfare LPA help?

By having a personal welfare LPA an individual can dictate who is to make decisions about them, should they lose mental capacity. They can name their unmarried partner as an attorney with the requisite legal authority. Thus a personal welfare LPA gives an unmarried couple the opportunity to put themselves in the same position as a married couple or civil partners in relation to the decision making in the evnt mental capacity is lost. So it can help to remove the a layer of uncertainty and vulnerability that can affect an unmarried individual later in life.

When should I make an LPA?

It can be too late to make an LPA. That’s because an LPA can only be drawn up whilst still mentally able to do so. Once a person is deemed to be mentally incapable it is just too late to do it. At this stage the normal recourse is through the courts which can be stressful and expensive.